Produce, including fruits and vegetables, may generate moisture during storage via respiration. Some produce has relatively high respiration rates and others have relatively low respiration rates. Currently, packaging of high respiration fruits and vegetables cannot be done in polyolefin-based films without the risk of decay and peel/skin damage or other physiological damage due to the accumulation of water droplets and pooled water inside the bags. As a result, other materials with very high water vapor transmission rates must be utilized, such as nylon films/bags. Nylon is a material with a high water vapor transmission rate, and films are made with this material to help minimize or remove condensation from high respiring and/or moisture sensitive produce, for example bananas. However, nylon bags have a drawback because they are more expensive to manufacture and do not have very good gas (for example oxygen and carbon dioxide) transmission properties which may play an important role for shelf life storage. Also nylon-based films are not efficient in transmitting ethylene-like gases that help trigger ripening in climacteric fruits or vegetables or 1-methylcyclopropene-like gases for quality management. 1-Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) is a known antagonist to the ethylene receptor.
Thus, there remains a need to develop cheap and effective packaging material for produce, especially for high respiring and/or moisture sensitive produce, against moisture loss, physical damage, and/or microbial decay.